Tenderness
by natzbadfairy
Summary: Mac meets a woman in a cafe. In a bizare situation, she turns out to be someone he's been looking for...please review i am pants at summeries :P rated for later chapters


-1Mac opened the café door, surveying the room as he automatically did when he entered anywhere. His usual spot at the end of the counter was free, Mac sitting down and ordering his usual meal.

'You're a oatmeal man. Personally I like the pancakes,' Mac smiled, the thick English accent catching his attention.

'I always eat oatmeal, never really get to eat with my line of work,'

'And you are?' Mac went to answer, grabbing hold of the young woman's hand and shaking his head at her. She looked down to the floor, the gun lying in plain sight. Mac looked at her suspiciously as she reached down, pulling a gun up from her side. The young man stood up and went to grab the gun, Mac amazed as she turned quickly, holding the gun against his head.

'Leave it on the floor. Turn around and out your hands on your head slowly. I'm warning you now. I will not hesitate to put a slug through your head,' he obliged before trying to knock her to the ground. She lowered the gun and shot though his shoulder, Mac grabbing her arms and pulling her back. She grunted, Mac forcing her up against the counter.

'What's your name?' She stood up straighter.

'Detective Peyton Driscoll. I'm an ME. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like for him not to bleed to death,'

'You're my new ME?'

'Your Mac Taylor?' Mac nodded once, letting Peyton go. She dropped to her knees, instantly putting pressure on the gun shot wound.

'Call 911 before he bleeds to death,'

Peyton ripped her shirt off, pulling on the white T-shirt.

'So your the new ME, nice to meet you. Don Flack,' Peyton went to shake his hand but put her hands up in the air.

'Blood…sorry. So, eye witness statement and my gun,' Peyton reached into her bag, dropping it straight in an evidence bag.

'I was talking to Detective Taylor, the gun fell to the floor behind me, Detective Taylor tried to stop me moving or reacting. I pulled the gun, held it against his head as he went to get the gun. Told him to turn around or I would shoot him. He turned round but then tried to force me to the floor. I shot him in the shoulder. Detective Taylor restrained me against the counter before I identified myself and then when he knew who I was he allowed me to treat the vic and then you were all called,'

'Best eye witness statement I've ever got. I have to ask though, why were you carrying a firearm in the first place?' Peyton lifted the white shirt up gently, revealing the badge.

'I arrived from London two weeks ago, got my badge and gun last week and was about to head into work for the first time,'

'Why was it out of the office?'

'I was on the coffee run for the Coroners office when I decided that they could wait for half an hour and let me eat something for the first time in nearly two days,' Flack nodded.

'I take it you will be easily reachable from the coroners office?' Peyton nodded.

'Anytime you need me,'

Mac had been watching her from the other side of the scene. He became concerned when he saw the bruises on her side, and the tenderness she had on her face. He handed Stella his signed statement and went straight towards her.

'You ok?' Peyton dropped her hand from her face and smiled broadly at Mac.

'Fine. Just a little sore from when he caught my face. You alright?' Mac laughed gently

'You didn't let anything happen to anyone in there, I'm fine. You were due in my office at three,'

'I know. Looks like introductions won't be needed,'

'I'm heading back to the lab, you want a lift?' Peyton looked up from her bag, nodding gratefully.

'That would be great. I walked over here from the Lab,' Mac guided Peyton gently over to his car and opened the car door for her. Peyton winced slightly, Mac motioning for a paramedic to come over.

'No, I'm fine honestly,'

'Let them have a look at you. I don't need my new ME passing out on her first day,' Peyton sat in the car, letting them examine her gently before they allowed her to leave.

'Just bruising. I'll be sore for a few days, but fine none the less,'

'Glad to hear it,'

Peyton sat in the office, reading over various cases. Autopsy was quiet, Peyton glad of the quiet and the fact she was still anonymous to some people and therefore wasn't bothered by them.

'I am returning your very new and I have to say very clean gun,' Peyton looked up, smiling at Mac.

'How's the vic?'

'He bled out in the ambulance,' Peyton slammed her hand down off the desk, Mac sighing heavily

'if you hadn't did what you did, I know right now that I would have had multiple casualties on my hands and a lot more victims. He was armed and dangerous. You did what you had to do. There won't be an investigation and there's nothing wrong in what you did,'

'Apart from the fact I shot a man in the shoulder, nicking a major vessel and killing him,'

'I would have shot him in the head. You were at least giving him a chance to live. He wouldn't have had such a luxury with me,'

'Maybe,' Peyton turned the light out, placing the gun in the top drawer. Mac outstretched his hand to Peyton, Peyton taking it wearily.

'I'm Detective Mac Taylor,' Peyton laughed gently

'I'm Detective Peyton Driscoll. Your new ME,'

'Nice to finally meet you,'

'Likewise,'

Peyton had never heard of been to a board meeting where every CSI and ME had to attend. She wasn't sure what to expect, if she would have to say something or if she was going to have to defend herself. Mac stood at the end of the table, Peyton picking the furthest away seat and keeping her head down.

'So, any new case developments I should know about before I go and arrest Buckfield. Is he going to slip through the net again?' Stella's face broke out into a smile.

'We have his DNA on the vic, on the murder weapon, we have video footage of him leaving the scene and dumping the weapon in the bin. We also have an eye witness statement which places him and the vic leaving the back of the nightclub. He's not got an alibi and he's not got a chance,'

'Was there any evidence that could have been compromised?' The room was silent, people shaking heads. Peyton stared at the autopsy report, one tiny item catching her eye.

'You have a problem,' Every set of eyes fell onto her, Peyton standing up and touching the board. The case came up in the screen, Peyton writing calculations down on the board.

'When the vic and Buckfield were in the club, the drink…a Tuscany,' Danny nodded.

'We collected five glasses off the table, four with Buckfields DNA, one with the vics,' Peyton sighed heavily and closed the case over.

'A Tuscany is a highly concentrated drink. One glass contains as much alcohol as three glass of undiluted scotch. If he had four of these…I'm surprised that he could stand up, never mind walk or kill someone,' Mac looked to the screen, and then to the group of faces.

'He's going to claim diminished capacity, claim that the Vic bought him the drinks. He's going to make this into him being the victim. We need to know who bought the drinks and how far apart he ingested them. He may not have been under the control of the alcohol at that point. Then again, he may have no recollection of the night. Find out who bought the drinks and retest the glasses, make sure the vics DNA isn't on the same glasses a Buckfileds. If it is, he could claim he was defending himself, diminished capacity. You know what he's like. He'll find a way to slip through the net. Find me when you have something,'

**Ok, so let me know what you think. I know I've gave Peyton a gun and a bit more of an attitude but for this story she gets softer as it goes on. Let me know what you think and if you think I should continue…**


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